Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs biopic to hit cinemas this October

After years of development, Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs film finally has a release date.

Universal Pictures, which picked up the biopic from Sony Pictures late last year, has set an 9 October release date, according to Deadline. It's currently in production and being directed by Slumdog Millionaire's Danny Boyle.

Leaked emails from the Sony hack revealed that Sony Pictures let the film go to Universal after Boyle cast Michael Fassbender as Steve Jobs. Although Fassbender is Oscar-nominated for his role in 12 Years a Slave, Sorkin told Sony chairman Amy Pascal that he didn't know the actor and thought the rest of the world wasn't going to care either.

Sorkin, whose credits include The West Wing, The Newsroom, A Few Good Men, Charlie Wilson's War, The Social Network, and Moneyball, wrote the script for the film, which is based on Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs.

Sorkin hasn't confirmed that he changed his mind about Fassbender, but it's not unusual for a film studio to ignore screenwriters' casting wishes. The biopic is therefore now in the filming stage, and the first shots from the set actually leaked earlier this week, showing Fassbender and Seth Rogen dressed as Jobs and Steve Wozniak, respectively.

The film is expected to cover three product launches, including the NeXT computer, original iMac, and iPod, and it will also star Jeff Daniels as former CEO John Sculley and Kate Winslet as former marketing chief Joanna Hoffman.